1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to protective helmets, and more particularly to protective sports helmets having face protectors.
2. Description of Related Art
Protective helmets are commonly used by players in various sports, and in fact are often required in league play and professional sports such as baseball and hockey. In baseball for example, batters and catchers are required to wear protective headgear to protect their heads, with the catcher's headgear additionally required to have a face protector.
Typical catcher's masks include a padded frame that surrounds the catcher's face, with a single-piece face cage attached to the front of the frame to cover and protect the catcher's face. The padded frame is attached to a helmet or straps which secures the frame to the catcher's head. Since the catcher is regularly exposed to baseballs traveling at speeds approaching one-hundred miles per hour, the face cages used in catcher's masks must be constructed of high-strength material. In order to provide adequate protection, conventional face cages for catcher's masks are single piece cages constructed of metal, configured to cover and protect the catcher's entire face.
While these single piece metal cages provide protection to the catcher, they are also heavy and cumbersome, and prolonged wearing of a catcher's mask having a metal face cage can tire the catcher's head and neck. In addition, if the metal face cage is struck by a stray baseball, the metal tends to become permanently bent or dented. Repeated strikes can cause metal fatigue and eventually break the metal cage.
Thus, there remains a need in the art for a protective face cage that is lightweight, provides adequate protection to the wearer, and does not easily wear or fatigue.